Sub-Roman Britain (Cavalry etc)

[Alanus]

I knew the Podolian cattle were genetically related to the Hungarian gray cattle... which are related to the Ukrainian gc. All the same roots there, I believe. My bowyer, Csaba Grozer, thinks they came in with the Magyars, but I believe they came from Alanic-Taifali root stock, long before the Magyars.

Can you expand on why you beieve that please?

Hello, Conal

My initail interest in gray cattle stemmed from the bows made for me by Grozer. They were built with the original materials used by the Roman army and steppe cultures, and featured sturgeon bladder glue, sinew, and gray cattle horn. The last is still available in Hungary, but the gc is becoming scarce. These cattle, once gelded, were the "driving force" of the steppe migration into Europe-- the bullocks that pulled the Sarmatian's huge covered wagons. (see Ammianus Marcellinus)

At one time, they existed in western Europe itself, the "uri": "a little below the elephant in size, and of the appearance, color, and shape of a bull. These the Germans take with much pains in pits and kill them... and those who kill the greatest number of them, having produced the horns in public receive great praise." (Caesar, de Bello Gallico, VI, xxvii, 10) In Europe they remained untamed and were hunted to extinction.

Yet on the steppe, they were tamed for draft animals. There are a number of references, but I'll just use one-- Gray Ukranian Cattle and Their Closely Related Forms by A.V. Kushnir and V.I. Glazko, RAS, Novosibirsk, 2009: "This breed is a product of long-term evolution and folk selection. Originated from one of the forms of the auroch (Bos taurus primigenius), which died out in the 17th century, it has retained its unique genetic complex... developed under conditions of rough forage, hot-summer and cold-winter steppe environment... The Gray Ukranian breed is a branch of gray steppe cattle of the so-called Podolian breed...." (K & G, p. 288)

Thus the steppe gray cattle were introduced into Ukraine, the northern and western Black Sea littoral, Hungary, Italy, and France. The Jersey cow is genetically related as well. What is important is a genetic type that shows up in exactly the same places settled by the Sarmatians, Alans, Taifali, Magyars, and Avars-- steppe people, many of whom were incorporated into the Roman cavalry.

I hope this has been helpful.
Best,